Goodell says full season planned
Fan involvement, timely start part of NFL vision
Despite COVID-19 concerns, the NFL informed club owners Thursday the league is forging ahead with plans to start training camp on time and play a full, uninterrupted schedule that includes some level of fan participation.
For now, that means the Raiders will open training camp July 28th at their facility in Henderson, with their season kicking off Sept.
13 at the Carolina
Panthers. Their first regular-season game at Allegiant Stadium is scheduled for Sept.
21 against the New
Orleans Saints.
Those plans were relayed to owners during a conference call conducted by the league in which the opening of training camp, the preseason and the regular season were discussed.
In a conference call with the media afterward, Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated his message that the plan right now is to “get ready for games at our stadiums and to engage our fans both in stadiums and through our media partners.”
While the the head of the NFL’S medical team, Dr. Allen Sills, concedes the league has not yet created an official testing, screening or treatment plan for COVID-19, he insists the league and the players association will have a jointly acceptable plan in place at the appropriate time.
It will be “one that will attempt to keep everyone in the team environment as safe as possible,” Sills
This is where everyone in that team environment is going to share the same risks, but they’ll also share the same responsibilities with each other.
said. “That includes not only players, but also coaches, staff and everyone who will be together.”
Sills admits the NFL’S plan likely won’t eliminate risk entirely. However, he said the risk can be reduced with a sound plan that is followed diligently.
“This is where everyone in that team environment is going to share the same risks, but they’ll also share the same responsibilities with each other,” Sills said. “Which means that everyone is going to be dependent on every other member of that team environment, for doing the very best that they can to implement these
measures and keep themselves and their household members as safe as possible throughout the course of the season.”
The NFL is preparing for a much different-looking stadium experience when games begin. That includes a six- to eight-row buffer zone at the lowest point of each stadium to create social distancing between fans and players.
While those rows will be kept vacant, the NFL will allow teams to cover the tarps with corporate signage to create revenue streams.
“There’s no requirement for the clubs to integrate advertising. It’s somewhat of an added benefit if there is an opportunity there,” said NFL Executive Vice President Renie Anderson. “There’s also an added
opportunity to thank our frontline workers and to create brand messaging for the clubs as well.”
Asked Thursday about such corporate signage appearing at Allegiant Stadium, a Raiders team official indicated no such plans have been made.
Still, Allegiant Stadium could look a bit different in the Raiders’ first year than originally expected. As might the attendance of fans, which is expected to be mandated by each team’s state, county and city regulations for mass gatherings due to COVID-19.
Thus, the guidelines for Miami might be significantly different than thos for Los Angeles or Las Vegas.
Among other highlights from the conference call:
The league and players association are working with other groups to drum up voter registration and voting.
Being considered are a condensed preseason schedule and roster flexibility to deal with players who test positive for COVID-19.
The league canceled the Hall of Fame game and is delaying the 2020 induction ceremonies for a year because of the pandemic. The game between Dallas and Pittsburgh will be Aug. 5, 2021, with enshrinements to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 7-8.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal. com. Follow @Vinnybonsignore ontwitter.